I didn't realize in some places it wasn't a law that you had to wear a helmet...how ridiculous that that is not mandatory!!!

This has been my complaint for the last few years. I don't understand why they have mandatory seat belt laws, but you don't have to wear a helmet to protect your brains from being splattered on the ground. It is just ridiculous.

For his sake, I hope that everything will work out in his favor. I hope others learn from this accident and start taking it easy on the streets and wear the helmets

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger apologized to the Pittsburgh Steelers, fans and his family on Thursday, hours after being released from a hospital, saying he was fortunate to be alive and pledging to wear a helmet if he ever again rides a motorcycle.

"In the past few days, I've gained a new perspective on life," the Super Bowl-winning quarterback said in a statement released by the team. "By the grace of God, I'm fortunate to be alive ... "

Roethlisberger, 24, who wrecked his bike and cracked his head on a car windshield on Monday, was discharged late Wednesday night.

The youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl was not wearing a helmet when he crashed into a car that was turning left in front of his motorcycle. Pennsylvania's mandatory helmet law was repealed in 2003.

But Roethlisberger said in the statement that if he ever rides a motorcycle again "it certainly will be with a helmet."

Doctors have said two rounds of tests showed no brain injuries, although there was a mild concussion. Doctors used small titanium plates and screws to reassemble Roethlisberger's broken jaws and repaired other broken facial bones. He also lost two teeth and chipped several others, doctors said.

In the statement, Roethlisberger said that he realizes he has a responsibility to safeguard his health in the offseason so he can continue to lead the team.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, citing confidentiality laws, has refused to confirm media reports that Roethlisberger does not have a valid Pennsylvania motorcycle license.

Roethlisberger appeared to address those reports in his statement.

"I never meant any harm to others nor to break any laws," Roethlisberger said. "I was confident in my ability to ride a motorcycle and simply believed such an accident would not happen to me."

"People are knocking him for not wearing a helmet and all of that, but the guy is hurting,"

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said those criticizing Roethlisberger for not wearing a helmet should back off.

"He went through seven hours of surgery and the last thing he needs right now is guys banging on him for not wearing a helmet," Palmer said at Bengals' minicamp in Cincinnati.

Police were still investigating and will not release their findings until their accident reconstruction is complete, spokeswoman Tammy Ewin said. Police have finished inspecting Roethlisberger's Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle and the car, but Ewin would not elaborate on that part of the investigation.

A secretary for District Justice Oscar Petite Jr., who has jurisdiction where the crash occurred, said no citations or other charges have been filed.

The car's driver, a 62-year-old woman, did not immediately return a telephone message Thursday.

The Steelers have not given a timetable for Roethlisberger's return, but hope he will be ready for their Sept. 7 opener against Miami. Players who visited Roethlisberger in the hospital believe he will return to action soon, with no ill effects.

"I look forward to being at training camp in Latrobe and winning football games this season," Roethlisberger said in the statement.

The Steelers are 27-4 with Roethlisberger at quarterback and have played in two AFC championship games and won a Super Bowl during his two seasons as a starter.

Bengals receiver Chad Johnson hopes the accident does not cause teams to impose more contractual limits on dangerous activities by players.

"They took away the [touchdown] celebrations. Now we can't enjoy ourselves outside of the facility? That's not fair," Johnson said.

"If you're going to do it, do it very cautiously. If you're going to ride a bike, ride it the right way. Don't speed. Do it for enjoyment. If you're going to bungee jump, have two cords in case one snaps. I don't ride anything. I just talk trash. That's it."

Although Roethlisberger was able to sneak out of the hospital Wednesday night, Mercy Hospital officials did not confirm his release until Thursday morning at the request of his family.

It was unclear where Roethlisberger went when he left the hospital. A bodyguard outside Roethlisberger's home did not say if the player was inside, but several vehicles were parked in the driveway and on the street nearby.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

I figured he might have changed his tune. Normally one near-death experience is enough for most people. Sounds like he had seven hours of them wiring and stitching his head back together for him to reconsider the wisdom of not wearing a helmet.

Last evening, I went walking, and while standing at an intersection waiting to cross the street, witnessed a near accident between a car and a motorcycle. Fortunately for all involved, this one was avoided, but it was close and it was scary. Seeing it naturally got me thinking again about Big Ben, and it also got me thinking to another aspect of accidents like this that I don't think gets enough attention. When a story like this breaks, people naturally point out the importance of wearing a helmet - rightfully so. But what about the responsibility of drivers of cars sharing the roads with motorcycles? In the accident I almost witnessed, it looked to me like the driver of the car was looking for a car before switching lanes, but didn't look hard enough. Cars are bigger than motorcycles. Therefore, the smaller space taken up by motorcycles is more difficult to see for a driver who is only makes a half attempt to see that the lane is clear.

Those driving motorcycles absolutely need to take responsibility, wear helmets, and drive safely. But those driving cars ALSO need to recognize that there are more than just cars on the road!

FOXsports .com has picture of the motorcycle and the car. They are a mess! I hope Ben realizes just how lucky he was. Hopefully a few other unhelmeted riders would take a lesson also.
I should warn anyone going to look at the pictures: They were taken at the scene and several show an awful lot of blood.

OPINIONROETHLISBERGER NOW HAS THE CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
By David M. Shribman

This was the safest bet in North America this week: The most powerful advocate of motorcycle and bicycle helmets will soon be a 24-year-old named Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh, Pa.

It only stood to reason that a man who wears a helmet at work, who calls the plays his coaches send into the huddle, and who hires sober and mature people to advise him on his finances and endorsements would listen to the sober and mature advice he almost certainly was given to make things right with the fans and with this teammates: Become the poster child for protective helmets. Because that's the answer to the question that almost certainly has been haunting Mr. Roethlisberger (with apologies to The Heads, who put the phrase to music): How do I undo the damage I have done?

Contrition is convincing, remarkably so. There's no more convincing an advocate for drug-free living than a former user who has hit bottom. There's no more credible a crusader for fitness than someone who has been felled by a heart attack. Who is the most prominent advocate for slimming down? Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas, who once was technically obese. Who made one of the most poignant public-service announcements about the danger of cigarettes? Yul Brenner, who died of lung cancer.

Regret is a powerful motivator, as two of America's greatest preachers, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, have argued. Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Or smokers. Or binge-eaters. Or cocky motorcyclists who think a baseball cap worn backward is protection enough from dangers off the field.

Some of the most searing testimonials of regret are on the Web site of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which chronicles the last statements of death row inmates before execution. Here is an excerpt from the remarks of Robert Dale, executed seven months ago for murder: "I would like to apologize to the victim's family and (for) all the grief I have caused them."

Now here's a sentence I never thought I would type: A good role model is Michael Milken. But the truth is that Mr. Milken has sworn off both junk bonds and junk food. Just out of prison serving a sentence for securities fraud, Mr. Milken discovered he had prostate cancer. He became a vegetarian and an evangelist for healthy eating, urging everyone who will listen to eat five to nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables without sauce or dressing and to load up on soybeans. That's better than some of the investment advice he used to hand out.

Another king of contrition was John D. Profumo, who died this year. Profumo, the onetime British secretary of state for war, was at the center of one of the greatest sex scandals of Cold War Britain, having had an affair with a showgirl who also had an affair with the Soviet naval attache. Profumo resigned and went to work, quietly and selflessly, with charities in London's East End.

And today, the longest-serving senator in American history, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, toils in the Capitol to build a legacy that somehow will overshadow what he calls "the greatest mistake of my life," his youthful membership in the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s.

But one of the most powerful motivations for Roethlisberger and his possible new role comes from a complete innocent, as the Steelers quarterback may consider himself. That is James S. Brady, who was Ronald Reagan's White House press secretary. Mr. Brady suffered a gunshot wound to the head in the 1981 attempted assassination of the president, and, with his wife, Sarah, has since become a prominent advocate for handgun controls. "A life-altering event awakens you," Sarah Brady, chair of the Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, said in a conversation this week. "It's almost a responsibility to speak out, to save others from having to go through what you have gone through."

These examples all should serve as inspiration for Mr. Roethlisberger, who after all has a lot of time remaining for contrition. But since quarterbacks are motivated by statistics, he almost certainly has been told that the number of motorcycle deaths and injuries is increasing -- and that cyclists without helmets are three times more likely to suffer brain injuries than those who wear them.

There is, to be sure, no helmet law in Pennsylvania or in 29 other states. But that doesn't mean cyclists in those states can't wear them. They can, and Mr. Roethlisberger can help. "With his reputation, his age, and the fact that he's an avid motorcyclist, whatever he said would resonate within that community," says Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety administration and a longtime motorcyclist himself. "He could make a life-or-death difference. If you're wearing a helmet -- they are 37 percent effective in preventing a fatal injury -- you have a much better chance of surviving, and surviving without a debilitating injury."

Roethlisberger could do a commercial, be on billboards or testify before state legislatures. He could have an impact far greater than the federal government, which has been specifically prohibited by Congress for getting involved in state legislative battles on motorcycle helmets. The quarterback's statement Thursday that he would wear a helmet if he rode a motorcycle again is a start. People appreciate a quarterback who can call an audible when circumstances change.